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25 June 2011

White Noise 2: The Light 2007 - REVIEW

It still dumbfounds me why film makers release films as a "sequel" when one really has nothing to do with the other. I've had many discussions about this and I get that sometimes they just wanna take it in a different direction but why call it a sequel? Why not just make the film, give it a clever title and release it as an entity all it's own. That would make a lot more sense to me anyway.

After witnessing the murder of his wife and young son at the hands of Henry Caine (Craig Fairbrass) who then turned the gun on himself, Abe Dale (Nathan Fillion) is so distressed that he attempts to take his own life. A near-death experience follows that leaves Abe with the ability to identify those who are about to die. He acts on these premonitions to save three people from death, among them a nurse met during his recovery, Sherry Clarke (Katee Sackhoff). Abe soon learns that Henry, before murdering Abe's wife and son, actually saved their lives. This leads Abe to believe that Henry also had the ability to see death. This makes Abe want to learn more about Henry, so he visits his house only to learn that Henry survived his suicide. Investigating further, Abe discovers that three days after cheating death, those whose lives he saved will be possessed and compelled to take the lives of others. Accepting this responsibility, Abe comes to terms with the horrible fact that he must consider killing to prevent further tragedy.

I'm one of probably millions of Fillion fans and I was intrigued to see him in such a serious role. There are a few times I've seen him "go serious" on the big screen or TV but he normally follows up with some off the wall goofball comment. Happily, he did a really great job at serious. He and Sackhoff were the best things about this film. Sackhoff is just as cute as can be and it took me forever to figure out where I'd seen her before... DUH, Halloween Resurrection. DUH, Battlestar Galactica. DUH, 24. What the hell is wrong with me?? What I didn't care for was Adrian Holmes character. I mean he did a fantastic job with what he was given but, to me, his character was insignificant. Like they wanted to move the story in a different direction but had no idea how to do it so they added in this character to help move the plot forward.

The film itself is nothing spectacular but leaps and bounds better than it's counterpart. Definitely don't go into it expecting to see the same content as the first because while there is some reference to it in the beginning, this film takes a whole different direction. And while we're on the subject of direction... I must be honest and say that I kinda zoned out when all the biblical stuff started coming up. Again, I felt it was insignificant. Yes, it propelled the story forward but I'm not convinced it was the right fit for this particular film. As for the ending... well, it was unimpressive to say the least. There are some decent effects and plenty of jump scares that are sure to get any rookie horror fan. If you're a Fillion fan, it's worth a watch just to see him excel at a different than usual performance. If not, I'd say find something more interesting to do... like water your lawn.